Walking the murals of Market Street

The colors on the walls along Market Street are changing faster than the businesses within them. As San Francisco finds itself in the midst of a tech-industry-fueled flux, the Mid-Market neighborhood in the heart of the city is emerging as a blank canvas, both for the high-end newcomers and for longtime Tenderloin residents.

Blocks of temporary construction walls play host to curated art exhibits, while the gritty metal security gates of small businesses provide street artists with creative outlets. The contrast could be considered an art exhibit unto itself.

“I feel really honored to be a part of the growing collection of murals on Market Street,” said San Francisco artist Joshua Coffy. “It’s been a wild ride, man.”

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Coffy’s “Bird Song Mural #3” can be found on the side of 1540 Market St., adjacent to a parking lot behind All-Star Donuts. The building is due to be demolished in a year or two, so the owners reached out to ArtSpan, an organization that supports local artists. ArtSpan did a call for submissions, and Coffy’s idea was selected.

“I cried when I got the call,” confessed Coffy, a former Trader Joe’s chalkboard artist. “It was such a big deal to me. I’ve always wanted a mural.”

All of the murals we looked at for this piece come with dramatically different stories. “I don’t have any feeling about it,” announced Beauty Supply manager Axl. He motions to the security gate of the business. When rolled down during off hours, it features a colorful graffiti-style mural. “You have to have it there or the city gives you tickets. It’s not a feeling, it’s protection.”

Axl was referring to a Department of Public Works graffiti ordinance that requires private property owners remove graffiti from their buildings within 30 days of notice. Art lovers or not, if a business has a mural on its security gate, it will deter graffiti and thus prevent fines.

Video: Market Street Murals

“There’s an ethics thing that they (artists, taggers, and vandals) don’t graffiti over someone else’s artwork,” says Nicholas Henry, a supervisor at CEX Complete Entertainment Exchange at 960 Market St.

“The only difference between graffiti vandalism and graffiti art is permission,” said Kearstin Krehbiel, executive director of San Francisco Beautiful. Krehbiel’s organization helped facilitate a living wall of plants above the Luggage Store Gallery at 1007 Market St. At sidewalk level, the building’s roll-down security gate features a painted set of giant sexy lips by Australian artist Mike Maka. The Luggage Store does not, in fact, sell luggage and is instead an arts nonprofit serving as a gallery performance space devoted to emerging and mid-career artists in the Tenderloin and Mid-Market districts.

Luggage Store co-founder Darryl Smith has been a part of the area’s art scene for nearly 30 years. “We thought it was an interesting way to energize that section of the city,” he said of the gallery’s location on Market. “We started making murals early on. The approach has been responsive to who lives there, who works there. It’s been overall a very positive kind of experience with more artists wanting to do projects here.”

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Kristin Farr’s mural is actually a vinyl print of one of her paintings applied to a temporary construction wall on Market Street near Seventh Streets.

Kristin Farr’s mural is actually a vinyl print of one of her paintings applied to a temporary construction wall on Market Street near Seventh Streets.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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At left: A large graffiti-style mural, signed “@Apexer,” covers the back of a building at Colton Street and Colusa Place in the Mid-Market neighborhood.

At left: A large graffiti-style mural, signed “@Apexer,” covers the back of a building at Colton Street and Colusa Place in the Mid-Market neighborhood.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Jesus Beltran of San Francisco stops to take a phone picture of a large mural on Market Street at Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Jesus Beltran of San Francisco stops to take a phone picture of a large mural on Market Street at Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Above: A pigeon flies in front of a painted avian relative in “Bird Song Mural #3” on Market Street near Van Ness Avenue.

Above: A pigeon flies in front of a painted avian relative in “Bird Song Mural #3” on Market Street near Van Ness Avenue.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A large mural covers a wall in a parking lot of the Holiday Inn on 8th St. between Market and Mission streets in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

A large mural covers a wall in a parking lot of the Holiday Inn on 8th St. between Market and Mission streets in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

At left: A ground-floor mural evokes busier times at the former Merrill’s drugstore on Market Street near Seventh, vacant since 2004.

At left: A ground-floor mural evokes busier times at the former Merrill’s drugstore on Market Street near Seventh, vacant since 2004.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals cover the roll-up doors of the Huckleberry Bicycle shop on Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Murals cover the roll-up doors of the Huckleberry Bicycle shop on Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals cover the temporary walls enclosing a construction site next to the Strand Theater on Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Murals cover the temporary walls enclosing a construction site next to the Strand Theater on Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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The mural "Bird Song" on Market and Van Ness in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

The mural "Bird Song" on Market and Van Ness in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals adorn the walls of Hollywood Billiards on Market St. between 6th and 7th streets in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Murals adorn the walls of Hollywood Billiards on Market St. between 6th and 7th streets in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals cover the backs of business at Colton St. and Colusa Pl. off of Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Murals cover the backs of business at Colton St. and Colusa Pl. off of Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A large graffiti style mural by "Apexer" covers the backside of a building at Colton St. and Colusa Pl. off of Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

A large graffiti style mural by "Apexer" covers the backside of a building at Colton St. and Colusa Pl. off of Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Robin Christensen and Scott Lyttle sit next to a large mural covering the side of a building on Brady St. at Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Robin Christensen and Scott Lyttle sit next to a large mural covering the side of a building on Brady St. at Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals cover the temporary walls enclosing a construction site next to the Strand Theater on Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Murals cover the temporary walls enclosing a construction site next to the Strand Theater on Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals cover the backs of business at Colton St. and Colusa Pl. off of Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Murals cover the backs of business at Colton St. and Colusa Pl. off of Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals adorn the walls of Hollywood Billiards on Market St. between 6th and 7th streets in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Murals adorn the walls of Hollywood Billiards on Market St. between 6th and 7th streets in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals cover the temporary walls enclosing a construction site next to the Strand Theater on Market Street.

Murals cover the temporary walls enclosing a construction site next to the Strand Theater on Market Street.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A YBCA-curated mural by Kristin Farr in the Mid-Market area.

A YBCA-curated mural by Kristin Farr in the Mid-Market area.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A mural is seen in an empty lot on Market St. at 12th St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

A mural is seen in an empty lot on Market St. at 12th St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A pigeon sits on a sign in front of the mural “Bird Song” on Market and Van Ness in San Francisco.

A pigeon sits on a sign in front of the mural “Bird Song” on Market and Van Ness in San Francisco.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Scott Lyttle sits next to a large mural covering the side of a building on Brady Street at Market.

Scott Lyttle sits next to a large mural covering the side of a building on Brady Street at Market.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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Murals adorn the walls of Hollywood Billiards on Market Street between Sixth and Seventh streets.

Murals adorn the walls of Hollywood Billiards on Market Street between Sixth and Seventh streets.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A mural covers the side of a building on Brady St. at Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

A mural covers the side of a building on Brady St. at Market St. in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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The mural "Bird Song" on Market and Van Ness in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

The mural "Bird Song" on Market and Van Ness in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A large mural covers the back side of All-Star Donuts on Market Street at Van Ness Avenue.

A large mural covers the back side of All-Star Donuts on Market Street at Van Ness Avenue.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

Walking the murals of Market Street

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That approach has included collaborations among the Luggage Store, varied funding organizations and building owners. For example, the Warfield theater at 928 Market features a multistory mural titled “Promise” by artist Clare Rojas. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the San Francisco Arts Commission and the Haas family fund, the east-facing mural isn’t the only large-scale painting on the building. The Warfield’s exterior is so covered in art, there’s even a mural aimed toward the sky. The building’s seventh-floor rooftop is painted in a swirling leaf pattern resulting in modern eye candy for some of the building’s newer tenants, which include Match.com and Spotify.

“There are challenges with the advent of tech. It has challenged the affordability, and that’s a big issue,” said Smith. “There’s awkwardness in a lot of parts of this, as with any new effort to bring various new ideas together and trying to make it succeed for all.”

Compromise can work wonders, even when merging business and art. “One mechanism is to not always insist that work should be permanent,” Smith said of persuading property owners to agree to murals. “There is great value in rotational projects.”

There are so many different ways of getting a mural up and so many different collaborations, every piece has a different story of both conception and demise. Coffy said he won’t be sad to see “Bird Song Mural #3” go when the building is eventually demolished.

According to Coffy, a week would have been sufficient to see his artwork on such a large public scale. Having his piece up for a year or two is beyond his wildest dreams. Kristin Farr’s YBCA-curated mural is a vinyl wrap print, so when the time comes to remove it, her piece can be saved and moved elsewhere.

When Deborah Cullinan took on the role as Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ CEO, one of her first tasks was to meet with Tracy Everwine, executive director of the Central Market Community Benefit District, and Meg Spriggs, a YBCA board member and managing director with Shorenstein Properties. Everwine and Spriggs had an idea, and they needed YBCA on board.

The result of that coffee date was the “brilliant idea that the bland, uninviting barricades that typically signify change in a neighborhood could be venues for beauty and inspiration,” Cullinan said. “The concept was to ask real estate developers to donate the surfaces of these barricades and provide funding to host murals made by local artists curated by YBCA.”

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

Pedestrians walk past a large mural that covers the wall in a parking lot of the Holiday Inn on 8th St. between Market and Mission streets in San Francisco, CA Sunday, July 26 2015.

Pedestrians walk past a large mural that covers the wall in a...

A noticeable result of this meeting is the hard-to-miss colorful mosaic mural on Market Street between Sixth and Seventh streets. The piece has enjoyed a recent popularity on Instagram, regularly popping up in local feeds on the photo-sharing social media app. Farr’s mural is actually a giant vinyl print of one of her paintings applied to a temporary construction wall. It will live on Market Street for about three years.

Says Farr, “It feels amazing and a complete honor to have my work in such a highly visible place, in the middle of a community I care deeply about.”

For San Francisco, wall murals serve not only as public art but also as an effective deterrent for vandalism. For the artists who create the murals, it’s an opportunity to connect with people. Coffy doesn’t need the public to read too much into “Bird Song Mural #3.”